Blog

High Weald Walking Festival

The High Weald AONB Partnership are running their Walking Festival from 11th-19th September this year.
They are running a booking system using Eventbrite – but all walks are fee.
Below are a few highlights to whet your appetite:

  • High Weald Dark Skies Walk – a leisurely walk to enjoy the stars across the High Weald with a Dark Skies story.
  • WealdWay 40th Anniversary Walk – a circular walk using the WealdWay and Tunbridge Well Circular, visiting the village of Spelhurst for lunch.
  • Full Steam ahead at Horsted Keynes – recapture the golden age of steam on this walk beside the Bluebell Railway and through fields and Woods.

Click on this link to see the full programme and more information

Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme

This opens in July 2021 and through the programme farmers and land managers can be supported to carry out projects that:

  • support nature recovery
  • mitigate the impacts of climate change
  • provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and cultural heritage
  • support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses

This is a programme of funding for one-off projects covering these areas of work, not an agri-environment scheme.

The programme is part of Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan.  It has been developed by Defra with the support of the AONB and National Park staff from across the country.

Click here to see full details on the Defra website

Plant a hedge for your community!

(Posted on behalf of Doug Edworthy, Dallington Tree Warden)

 As part of the Tree Council’s year-long Close the Gap programme, their Community Hedge Fund is now open for applications. They will be awarding grants of up to £2,500 for volunteer Tree Wardens and community groups to plant new hedgerows, hedgerow trees and to gap up existing hedgerows in rural and urban areas across England this winter.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 8 August 2021. Your planting will need to take place between November and January. You can find out more about the fund and apply on The Tree Council website 

New Dallington Tree Group

(Posted on behalf of Doug Edworthy)

Dallington Tree Group – Volunteers Please!

In our rural parish of Dallington we have some lovely examples of ancient and veteran trees dotted around our hedgerows, fields, and woods. These living ‘carbon lock-ups’ and special habitats for plants and animals are so very important to the environment and to us. But in Dallington we don’t actually know how many we have, what condition they are in, or whether they are facing risks from disease or potential damage.

I’m proposing to establish a Dallington Tree Group with three straightforward objectives: –

1) Get to know what trees we have by doing a survey of the parish,
2) Use the data collected to create a register of the parish’s tree stock, and
3) Formulate proposals to Dallington Parish Council for a parish tree management plan.


The survey phase will take the longest to do, and will need the assistance of volunteers to
walk footpaths, etc., to collect data on trees and, where access is possible, to take measurements. I’ll train any willing volunteers in the measurement and assessment techniques required so don’t worry if you haven’t done a tree survey before – and it will be fun!

If you can join our group, whether as an active walker of rights of way, someone with existing knowledge of special trees in the parish, or someone with IT database or admin skills, please get in touch with me, Doug Edworthy, via the email address [email protected] or my mobile number 07711 090 925.

Tree Warden (Champion), Brightling & Dallington Parish Councils [email protected]   07711 090925

DPC Finance 2020-21

These are the legally required documents for the publication of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for an exempt authority 2020-21 and the documents required under the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities.
Please contact the Clerk/RFO on – [email protected] – if you have any queries.

Public Rights Notice 2020-21
A Summary of your Rights
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020-21
Bank Reconciliation at 31.03.21
Explanation of Variances 2020-21
Items of Expenditure over £100 2020-21
Details of Public Land and Building Assets 2020-21
Councillor Responsibilities at 26.05.21